Methods for applying images onto a receiving medium using a radiation curable phase change ink are known in the art. Such methods typically include a step of curing the radiation curable ink composition. Curing of the ink composition may be done e.g. by irradiating the newly printed image with a suitable radiation source, such as a UV radiation source. The image obtained may have a certain gloss level. A high gloss level of an image corresponds to a glossy image whereas a low gloss level corresponds to a matt image. The gloss level may be influenced by several parameters, such as composition of the ink, or nature of the receiving medium, etc. However, it is desired to be able to tune the gloss level of the image in a flexible way. For example, if the gloss level is tuned by selecting an ink composition corresponding to the desired gloss, than the ink composition needs to be changed if the desired gloss level of two subsequent print jobs is different. This is time consuming and inefficient.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,105,659 discloses a method for applying an image onto a receiving medium using a UV curable ink, wherein the gloss of the image obtained is controlled by controlling an amount of oxygen in the air. However, this method requires control of the atmosphere around the printed image, and thus requires a complicated set up for applying the image.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method that mitigates the problem of the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for applying an image onto a receiving medium using a radiation curable phase change ink, wherein the gloss of the image obtained can be suitably regulated.